In the hollers
This past weekend found me gallivanting through the mountains, first to a family reunion (my mother's mother's mother's people) and then all through the woods and backroads and up the mountains and down into the hollers to visit three old family cemeteries, the totally fallen down remnants of the old country store that my great-grandparents ran for a while, and the homeplaces of my great-great grandfather. Rounded out the weekend with old uncle Lyle, my grandmother's youngest brother, listening to old Scottish music. A great time.
I came east again, and had probably the best jambalaya I've ever had that wasn't either a) served up in NO, or b) my own recipe. Handed out some asswhuppings over games of pool, and got one of my own when we switched over to poker. Saw some tremendously good C&W in a redneck Irish pub, and accidentally made my buddy Mike think that my grandfather had recently passed away when I hoisted my whiskey and said, "Old Granddad!" Also great times.
Heard this joke, too, courtesy of my mom's cousin Eleanor:
So, the old southern woman was driving over a bridge, and she happened to see a young man climbing over the railing and looking like he was about to jump. She stopped her car real quick and ran over to him.
"Don't jump, sonny!" she yelled to him. "Think of your wife and kids!"
He gave her a sad look and replied, "I'm not married, and I don't have any kids either."
Not to be dissuaded, she said to him, "Well, think of your poor parents, then!"
He gave her a sadder look and said, "My parents are dead, and they never liked me anyway."
Fast on her feet, the old southern woman said, "Well then, think of the memory of Robert E. Lee!"
The young man gave her a puzzled look. "Who's Robert E. Lee?" he asked her.
"Well, go ahead and jump."
I came east again, and had probably the best jambalaya I've ever had that wasn't either a) served up in NO, or b) my own recipe. Handed out some asswhuppings over games of pool, and got one of my own when we switched over to poker. Saw some tremendously good C&W in a redneck Irish pub, and accidentally made my buddy Mike think that my grandfather had recently passed away when I hoisted my whiskey and said, "Old Granddad!" Also great times.
Heard this joke, too, courtesy of my mom's cousin Eleanor:
So, the old southern woman was driving over a bridge, and she happened to see a young man climbing over the railing and looking like he was about to jump. She stopped her car real quick and ran over to him.
"Don't jump, sonny!" she yelled to him. "Think of your wife and kids!"
He gave her a sad look and replied, "I'm not married, and I don't have any kids either."
Not to be dissuaded, she said to him, "Well, think of your poor parents, then!"
He gave her a sadder look and said, "My parents are dead, and they never liked me anyway."
Fast on her feet, the old southern woman said, "Well then, think of the memory of Robert E. Lee!"
The young man gave her a puzzled look. "Who's Robert E. Lee?" he asked her.
"Well, go ahead and jump."